Latest / Reformed Thinking / The Lord My Shepherd: Perfect Care for the Soul (Psalm 23) | Charles Spurgeon

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The Lord My Shepherd: Perfect Care for the Soul (Psalm 23) | Charles Spurgeon · Reformed Thinking

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  Welcome to Reformed thinking. Today we're doing a deep dive
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  into what might be the most well known chapter in the entire
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  Bible, Psalm 23. It's often called David's
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  Heavenly Pastoral and Spurgeon, well, he called it the Pearl of
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  Psalms, which I think is a perfect description.
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  It has the soft, pure radiance that seems to light up every
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  corner of a believer's life. The piety and the poetry are
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  just perfectly matched. It's an ode that has brought
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  comfort to so many people in times of deep sorrow.
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  It really has. But you know, something that
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  often gets missed because it's so famous on its own is its
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  placement. Where it sits in the book of
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  Psalms is absolutely critical. Right, This isn't just some
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  general comforting song about sheep in meadows.
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  The peace you find here is completely dependent on what
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  comes directly before it. Psalm 22.
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  That context is everything for a believer's assurance.
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  You just can't separate the shepherd's care in Psalm 23 from
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  the cost of that care in Psalm 22.
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  Which opens with that cry from the cross.
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  My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?
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  That's the one. It's the Psalm of the cross.
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  You have to see the blood shedding.
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  You have to understand the cost. See that sword awakened against
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  the Shepherd, against Christ himself, before the green
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  pastures and still waters even make sense.
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  So the peace isn't the starting point, it's the result.
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  It's a consequence, and that's what sets up the whole theology
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  of this Psalm, the confidence, the assured dependence on the
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  Father that David sings about. It's only possible because the
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  Lamb of God was sacrificed. All these benefits flow to the
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  chosen flock because Christ paid the price.
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  And that's our goal for this deep dive.
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  We want to go verse by verse, really drawing out the insights
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  from the great commentators to capture the full scope of God's
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  pastoral care and assurance for the believer.
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  Let's do it. OK, let's unpack that opening
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  line. The Lord is my shepherd.
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  When you stop and think about who the Lord is, Jehovah, the
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  infinite sovereign Creator, for him to take on the role of a
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  shepherd is just. It's an act of Amazing Grace.
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  It's an act of condescension, really.
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  And David knew this role intimately.
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  He'd been a shepherd. He knew the massive difference
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  in status. He knew what he was comparing
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  himself to. Exactly.
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  A sheep is weak, it's defenseless, it's prone to
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  wander, and honestly, it's a foolish creature.
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  And he contrasts that with all the duties of the shepherd.
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  So what would those duties have been in his mind?
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  Well, the shepherd is the sheep's entire world.
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  He's the provider making sure they have food and water.
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  He is the preserver guarding them from wolves and thieves,
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  and he's the director leading them away from danger.
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  He's their everything. They're all sufficient, God.
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  For the Lord to take on that office for us is just
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  staggering. Which brings up the question
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  then, of who actually gets to say this.
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  The commentators, especially from a reformed view, are very
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  strict on this point. They are.
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  They stress that no one really has a right to this title to say
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  the Lord is my shepherd unless their nature has been renewed by
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  God. Because scripture uses very
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  different language for unconverted people.
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  It does. They're called wolves or goats
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  or lost sheep, but they're not seen as belonging to this
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  specific chosen flock that receives this kind of covenantal
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  care. So it's not a claim anyone can
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  make, it's a specific covenantal declaration.
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  Precisely. The sheep is an object of
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  property. It's been purchased, as the
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  sources say, with a great price, the blood of Christ.
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  So this whole relationship is founded on that sovereign act of
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  redemption and regeneration. Without that, the confidence in
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  this Psalm is well, it's hollow. It is.
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  And that leads us to maybe the sweetest, most important word in
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  the whole verse. That tiny word.
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  My. That one syllable changes
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  everything. It's the hinge, isn't it?
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  He doesn't say the Lord is a shepherd, which is, you know, a
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  general theological truth. He doesn't say he's the shepherd
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  of the world, which is too broad to comfort a soul in distress.
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  He says the Lord is my shepherd. It's the act of personal
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  appropriation. Yes, it's a confident, present
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  tense claim that locks the relationship down.
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  It's as if David is saying if he's a shepherd to no one else
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  right now, he is still a shepherd to me.
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  He watches over me. It's that spirit of assured
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  personal dependence. No matter what's going on, good
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  times, sickness, trouble, you're still under his particular
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  individual care. Even now, and once you've locked
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  that down, once you know that Jehovah is your shepherd, the
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  second part of the verse just flows right out of it as a
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  necessary conclusion. I shall not want.
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  It's not a hope, it's a positive sententious inference.
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  It's a logical deduction. If your shepherd is infinitely
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  wise, infinitely kind, and infinitely capable, what could
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  you possibly lack? The sufficiency of the supply is
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  guaranteed. You see it all through
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  Scripture. God feeds the Ravens.
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  He clothes the lilies. How much more will He provide
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  for His own children? His grace will be sufficient for
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  everything temporal and spiritual.
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  But this is where we have to be careful, right?
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  The commentators like Sedgwick draw a really crucial
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  distinction here to prevent spiritual disappointment.
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  Yes, the distinction between absence and indigence.
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  And I think a lot of us can get tripped up on this today,
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  confusing the 2. So what's the difference?
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  Absence is the lack of desirable but non essential things.
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  You might lack great wealth or perfect health or social status.
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  Many good things might be absent.
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  But indigence is the lack of a needful good, something truly
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  essential for your life and your godliness.
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  So David is guaranteeing the removal of indigence, not the
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  removal of absence. Absolutely.
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  The promise isn't that you'll never desire something you don't
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  have, it's that no needful goodwill ever be lacking.
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  If the Lord knows that, say, worldly wealth would be a
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  spiritual poison to you, then the absence of that wealth is
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  actually His provision, not a lack.
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  That totally reframes how we view what we have and don't
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  have. It's governed by our spiritual
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  need for holiness. It is the worldly person with
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  millions is still wanting because their heart is restless,
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  but the believer who seeks the Lord even with very little find
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  sufficiency. Contentment becomes the real
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  measure of not wanting. So that old saying about the
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  poor cottager looking at his simple meal and saying what all
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  this and Jesus Christ to a person's cup is running over in
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  a way a billionaires might not. Exactly, it shifts the entire
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  focus from getting to appreciating.
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  And we have to look at the tents too.
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  I shall not want. It's a security blanket for the
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  future. It covers everything down the
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  road. Yes, calamities, old age, even
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  death itself. Come what may, the lack of what
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  is truly needful is removed. The righteous person never truly
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  wants because their satisfaction is rooted in their relationship
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  with the Shepherd, and that relationship is secured by an
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  unbreakable covenant promise. So if the Lord is our shepherd,
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  what does that actually look like day-to-day?
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  Verse 2 gives us a picture with two parts.
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  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.
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  You leadeth me beside the still waters.
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  And the commentators see this as a perfect picture of the two
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  essential parts of the Christian life.
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  You have contemplation or rest, and you have activity or
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  progress. A kind of balance.
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  A balance, yes, like having both Mary sitting at Jesus's feet and
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  Martha busy with service, living inside the same soul.
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  Let's take the contemplated part first.
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  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.
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  What are these pastures? They're almost universally seen
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  as the scriptures of truth, especially the doctrines of the
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  gospel. They're described as always
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  fresh, always rich, never exhausted.
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  The idea is a pasture so lush the sheep never has to bite the
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  bare ground. But it's not just that the food
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  is there there, there's also rest.
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  He maketh me to lie down. And that's key.
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  A nervous sheep, one that's always on his feet, can't digest
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  its food properly. And a distracted believer,
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  always agitated by the world, might have the gospel, but they
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  never really assimilated. Faith lets you find prevender
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  and peace, rest and refreshment all at the same time.
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  Lying down is a posture of total surrender.
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  And that word maketh is so powerful.
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  This is an arrest we achieve on our own through willpower.
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  Not at all. It's a gracious act of divine
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  enabling. Lots of people know the promises
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  of God intellectually, but they aren't made to lie down in them.
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  They're still anxious. When the Lord applies the truth
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  to your soul, He stills that inner storm and enables that
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  radical, restful trust. It's a gift.
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  Assurance isn't something we work up, it's something we
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  receive. It is.
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  It's the shepherd making sure his flock is settled and
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  nourished. And then we move from rest to
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  the active part. He leadeth me beside the still
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  waters. We're not meant to lie down
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  forever. We're on a journey.
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  And these still waters are the influences and graces of the
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  Holy Spirit. Why waters plural?
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  And why still they're? Plural, because the Spirit works
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  in all these different ways. He cleanses, He refreshes, He
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  makes us fruitful, He brings comfort and conviction.
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  So there are multiple streams of grace.
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  And the stillness. The Holy Spirit loves peace.
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  He avoids a big show. He's compared to a dove, not an
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  eagle to do, not a hurricane. True spiritual life is often
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  found in that sacred silence of the mind where still waters run
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  deep. It's the complete opposite of
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  the world's chaos. It is.
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  The spirit can be flowing into one person's heart, changing
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  everything, and the person standing next to them has no
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  idea. It's a quiet, powerful stream of
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  holy love. And again, we can't find these
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  places on our own. The method of guidance is so
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  important. He leadeth me.
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  We have to pause on that. It's gentle guidance.
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  It's not like the law Moses drives us with commands from the
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  mountain. Christ leads us by his example,
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  by the drawing of his love. The difference between being
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  pushed by duty and being pulled by affection.
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  That's it exactly. And this leadership sustains our
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  weakness. The sheep is slow, so the
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  shepherd leads at the sheep's pace.
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  He goes first, make sure the path is safe and invites us to
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  follow, not shoving us from behind with a whip.
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  So we've got provision and gentle leading, but the shepherd
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  knows his flock isn't perfect. We're still foolish.
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  We still fall, which takes us right to verse three.
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  He restoreth my soul. This speaks so directly to the
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  reality of spiritual decline. Believers can and do slip.
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  We deviate, we backslide. Even after tasting the sweetness
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  of those green pastures. If we never wandered off, we
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  wouldn't need to be restored. And the Shepherd is quick to
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  step in. He.
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  Is for rescue, for recovery, for renewal.
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  And the scope of this restoration is total.
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  It covers every spiritual sickness.
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  So. When the soul is sorrowful, he
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  revives it with his joy. When it's sinful, he sanctifies
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  it. When it's weak and weary, He
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  strengthens it. It's complete spiritual
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  maintenance. And again, the one doing the
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  work is emphasized. He restores.
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  This is such a critical point of Reformed theology.
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  A good sermon, a book, even reading the word by itself, none
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  of it is enough to restore the soul.
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  It takes the direct, effective action of the shepherd, applying
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  the Word by the Spirit to bring a straying child back.
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  If the Lord doesn't do it, it won't get done.
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  Our recovery depends entirely on His grace, and when that renewed
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  heart is restored, its deepest desire changes.
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  What is it yearn for? The renewed heart wants more
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  than just to be saved from wrath.
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  It wants chiefly to be saved from sin itself.
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  It wants to be LED in holiness. Sanctification isn't seen as a
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  burden anymore. It's a sweet gift of the
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  covenant. And that desire leads right into
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  the next phrase. He leadeth me in the paths of
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  righteousness. It's not just recovery from sin,
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  it's direction toward a consecrated walk.
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  Yes, and that obedience, the obedience that comes from being
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  restored, isn't forced. It's the spontaneous obedience
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  of love. We follow because we've been
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  forgiven and healed. And the commentators point out
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  the plural here, paths of righteousness.
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  Why is that significant? Why not just the path?
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  Because the believer is called to yield to all of God's
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  commands, not just pick and choose the ones we like.
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  Holiness shows up in multiple ways in our worship, our work,
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  our family life. They're all different paths, but
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  they all lead to the same place looking more like Christ.
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  So it's a comprehensive walk. And the motive behind all of
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  this, The provision, the restoration, the leading, it's
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  given at the end of the verse. For his name's sake.
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  This is the ultimate security clause.
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  It resolves everything into pure free grace.
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  The shepherd acts not because the sheep are good or deserving,
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  but because his own reputation is on the line.
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  It's for his own honor that his flock should be holy and walk
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  faithfully. It takes the pressure of our
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  security completely off of us. Completely.
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  The shepherd does his part to maintain the credit of his his
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  name. No matter how often we stumble,
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  the stability of our salvation is tied directly to the
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  stability of God's character. If even one of his purchased
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  sheep were finally lost, it would bring dishonor on his
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  name. It would suggest he wasn't
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  strong enough or wise enough to preserve them.
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  Which speaks directly to the preservation of the Saints.
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  It does. Every part of his care is
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  secured because the Shepherd's own glory is tied to the final
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  destiny of his flock. He cannot fail.
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  And this is where the Shepherd's care faces its biggest test.
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  David mows from this serene pasture to the ultimate fear,
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  mortality in verse four. Yeah.
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  Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will
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  fear no evil, for thou art with me.
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  Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
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  An unspeakably delightful verse. It's been sung on so many death
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  bounds, but notice the confidence in his language, he
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  says. I walk through the valley.
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  He's not running, not stumbling. No, it's a steady, measured
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  pace. The soul knows where it's going,
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  it knows its destination, and it's calm.
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  The dying St. isn't in a panic, he just keeps his old pace
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  moving from one room to the next.
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  If you. Will and it's crucial that he
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  walks through it. It's not the end point.
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  Exactly. Death is the porch, not the
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  house. It's the dark passage you go
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  through to get to the light of immortality and the valley
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  itself. You know a valley is often the
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  most peaceful part of a mountain range.
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  The storms hit the peaks, but the valley is quiet, shielded.
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  A St. can find more peace there than they knew in life.
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  But the terror is still real. How can David face it with such
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  calm? Because the terror has been
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  reduced to a shadow, the valley of the shadow of death, the
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  substance of death, it's sting, it's penalty, was removed by
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  Christ on the cross. We're right back to Psalm 22.
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  Because Christ was forsaken. We are never forsaken in the
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  Valley. So the shepherd's sacrifice is
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  what defeated death itself. It did.
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  And think about a shadow. A shadow can't stop you.
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  It can't bite you, it can't kill you.
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  It's just the outline of something that used to be
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  fearful. And more than that, for a shadow
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  to exist, there has to be a light somewhere.
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  The light of heaven is shining just beyond the passage, and
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  that's what's casting this temporary darkness.
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  So David, understanding this, doesn't just hope there is no
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  evil, he makes a statement of fact.
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  I will fear no evil. It's the cure for the disease of
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  fearing. It even extends to the evil one
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  himself. The last enemy is seen as a
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  conquered foe. And the beautiful thing is, the
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  assured believer is granted such confidence that even this final
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  real evil loses its power to paralyze.
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  And the source of all that security is in 4 words, for thou
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  art with me. That's the bedrock.
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  It's the only thing that matters in that moment.
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  It's like a child sleeping in its mother's arms on a ship in a
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  storm. The child doesn't understand the
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  storm, but it knows its mother is there, and that is enough.
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  Knowing Christ is present is sufficient for perfect peace.
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  And that presence is expressed through his instruments of rule.
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  Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
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  These aren't tools of punishment, they're symbols of
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  the Shepherd's sovereignty and his gracious care.
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  The comfort comes from knowing that even in our weakest moment,
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  we are still being ruled, still being cared for.
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  Cedric breaks down the uses of the pastoral rod and it's so
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  helpful. OK, let's go through them.
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  What's the first use? 1st the rod is used to count the
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  sheep. This means the Shepherd is
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  taking special notice of his people.
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  The comfort is knowing you're not forgotten.
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  Even in the darkest valley. He is counting you.
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  He knows your number. None are missing.
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  He sees you. The second use is to quicken the
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  negligent. He uses it to prod the lazy
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  sheep, to get them to mend their spiritual pace.
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  How is being prodded a comfort? Because a regenerated soul wants
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  to walk rightly, that discipline is a loving act to keep us from
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  the greater discomfort of spiritual slumber and
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  backsliding. It actually quickens us back to
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  joy. OK.
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  And the third. The rod is used to correct the
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  string to bring the wanderer back from sin.
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  The comfort is knowing the Lord won't just leave his sheep to
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  wander into destruction. He will intervene, sometimes
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  sharply, to bring them back home.
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  The rod ensures our preservation.
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  It's just a totally different perspective on death.
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  It's not about escaping the process, no.
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  For the apostle Paul to die is gain.
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  The focus isn't on avoiding the valley, but on the certainty of
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  immediate fellowship with the shepherd on the other side.
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  That's the comfort. So after walking through that
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  valley, the scene shifts again in verse 5 back to safety, but
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  with this surprising tension thou prepares to table before me
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  in the presence of mine enemies. The godly person has to accept
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  that they will have enemies. The friendship of the world is
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  enmity toward God, so the shepherd doesn't promise to
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  remove the hostility. He promises to provide despite
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  it. And the way he provides is so
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  calm thou prepares to table this isn't a quick bait to eat during
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  a battle. No, it implies care and leisure.
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  It's a full peaceful feast set out with care, even though the
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  enemy is right there at the door watching the whole thing.
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  That's a picture of perfect peace in the middle of a siege,
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  a kind of calm bravery. It is the shepherd shows that
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  his blessing doesn't depend on the wicked's inability to stop
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  it. God's arm prevails so completely
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  that the enemies can see the provision.
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  They can envy it, but they are powerless to stop it.
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  He's showing contempt for their malice by calmly feeding his
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  child right in front of them. So after the feast comes the
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  sign of honor. Thou anointest my head with oil.
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  This was an Eastern custom for a distinguished guest, a sign of
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  love and refreshment. The oil was smooth, fragrant.
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  It was a delight spiritually. The commentators connect this to
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  the Christian priesthood. Every believer is a priest.
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  Yes, every Christian is a priest set apart for God's service, and
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  we can't do that service without the unction, the anointing of
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  the Holy Ghost. So it's a daily need for
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  renewal. Absolutely.
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  It's the daily need for new grace from on high to keep us
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  fresh and joyful in our service. It's the oil of gladness.
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  A priest without that oil lacks both the qualification and the
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  joy needed to serve well. And all of this culminates in
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  this statement of sheer abundance.
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  My cup runneth over. This is redundancy.
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  Not just enough, not just a full cup, but more than enough, an
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  overflowing abundance. The shepherd supplies not just
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  the necessities but the luxuries of spiritual delight and.
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  This goes back to what we said earlier about contentment.
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  It does. Contentment is the key that
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  makes the cup overflow. Contentment is more than a
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  Kingdom. It is another word for
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  happiness. If your heart is content in
• 18:48
  Christ, the smallest provision feels like an overflowing cup.
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  If your heart is restless, the greatest fortune feels empty.
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  And for those whose cups do run over it, there's a
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  responsibility, yes. The call is to carry their cup
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  upright and let the overflow spill into the emptier cups of
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  their brethren. The provision is for service and
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  sharing. And so we come to the final
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  verse, the glorious conclusion of it all, where David's faith
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  resolves into an eternal promise.
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  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my
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  life, and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.
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  That first word, surely is like a heavenly verily.
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  It's an indisputable fact, not a hopeful wish.
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  Some commentators even suggest you can read it as only goodness
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  and mercy will follow me. Meaning even the hard things.
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  Even the trials are seen not as God's wrath, but as expressions
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  of an unmingled mercy designed for our sanctification.
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  And these two guardians, goodness and mercy, are with us
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  always. There are bodyguards.
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  They follow us on the black days and the bright days, in sorrow
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  and in feasting, in winter and in summer.
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  They are always there. What are their specific jobs?
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  Goodness is the provider supplying every need.
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  Mercy is the forgiver, blotting out our sins, healing our
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  backsliding. 1 looks ahead to provide the other looks behind
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  to forgive. They ensure our ultimate
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  security. And the final destination of
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  this journey is I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.
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  This is the believers ultimate hope.
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  A servant, as one source notes, doesn't abide in the house
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  forever, but the son abides. Ever.
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  This is the assurance of an adopted child with permanent
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  resident status. The dwelling is continuous.
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  It is here on earth. The whole world is God's house
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  for us. When we ascend, we don't change
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  company or houses. We just move to the upper story
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  of the Father's house. The fellowship continues.
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  It just becomes perfected. That's the crown that makes
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  sense of all the struggles along the way.
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  It brings everything full circle, right back to the first
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  verse. David looks at all his
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  experiences, the feeding, the restoring, the feasting, and
• 20:48
  from those mercies he becomes fully persuaded of God's
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  permanent favor and his own eternal security.
• 20:54
  His assurance flows from God's character, not his own
• 20:56
  performance. And that's the call, A holy,
• 20:59
  courageous assurance built entirely on the sovereignty and
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  integrity of the shepherd. The certainty is in him, not in
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  the sheep. And that brings us to the final
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  thought we'd like to leave you with.
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  If Jehovah, the unchanging Sovereign Lord, guarantees that
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  only goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your
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  life and provides A dwelling place forever, what does this
• 21:20
  say about the certainty of preservation for those who
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  belong to him? It means the preservation of the
• 21:25
  Saints is assured not by their own strength or their ability to
• 21:28
  hold on, but because the honor and the name of the shepherd
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  demands that every single sheep purchased by his blood will
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  never under any circumstance be snatched from his hand.
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  That certainty should dictate how you live, how you walk, and
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  how you rest.